Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Engagement Strategy
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2017 1 What’s in this Strategy? 1. Introduction ................................................................................................................ 4 2. Our Commitment ........................................................................................................ 6 3. Key Principles............................................................................................................. 8 4. Engaging in the ‘proper way’ ...................................................................................... 9 4.1. What is the ‘proper way’? .................................................................................. 10 4.2. Importance of cultural competence .................................................................... 10 4.3. Understanding Country, Culture and Community ............................................... 11 4.4. Importance of communication ............................................................................ 12 4.5. Importance of language ..................................................................................... 14 5. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander engagement approach .................................... 15 6. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander engagement priorities ...................................... 17 6.1 Communication and sharing of information ........................................................... 17 6.2 Cultural competency .......................................................................................... 17 6.3 Sharing best practice ......................................................................................... 18 6.4 Local solutions................................................................................................... 18 6.5 Participant-centric design .................................................................................. 18 6.6 Market enablement ............................................................................................ 19 6.7 Leveraging and linking ....................................................................................... 19 6.8 Cultural leadership ............................................................................................ 19 6.9 Supporting internal infrastructure ....................................................................... 19 6.10 Tracking progress .............................................................................................. 19 Appendix 1 State and territory – key initiatives ................................................................ 21 New South Wales ........................................................................................................ 21 Northern Territory (NT) ................................................................................................. 23 Queensland ................................................................................................................. 25 South Australia ............................................................................................................ 27 Tasmania ..................................................................................................................... 29 Victoria ......................................................................................................................... 30 Western Australia ......................................................................................................... 31 Australian Capital Territory ........................................................................................... 32 2017 3 1. Introduction FIGURE 1: Working Together – painting by Elder, Aunty Robyn Lennox, presented to Anne Skordis at the Strong Women’s Network Gathering, 2015. Aunty Robyn Lennox provided permission for the use of this artwork. Through our work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples1, their families, carers and communities, we have heard of hope for a different way of working together: • with wisdom; • with compassion; • to develop new ways; • with understanding and respect for culture; • to acknowledge the past as a starting point for doing things better in the future; • with heart; and • to grow together. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Engagement Strategy (the Strategy) is a statement of the National Disability Insurance Agency’s (NDIA) commitment to walk with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in delivering the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) across Australia. 1 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples is the collective term for all people who identify and are recognised as descendants of the original inhabitants of Australia, and acknowledges the many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups in Australia. 2017 4 The Strategy is informed by our ongoing interaction and engagement with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with disability, their families, carers, communities and supporting organisations to clearly understand and respond to issues affecting access to the NDIS. We aim to develop a collaborative planning and working model to inform practice which can meet the needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples with disability, their families, carers and communities. Achieving these aims provides the basis to collectively build inclusion and positive outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians through the NDIS. This can be achieved through activities which are compatible with both the cultural values of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and the long term sustainability of the NDIS. The Strategy also acknowledges the importance of a flexible, community by community approach to meeting the needs of diverse Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. This approach will build on the strengths of communities to develop local solutions. It will be supported by a commitment to maximising opportunities for employment, training and economic development in the rollout of the Scheme. The Strategy describes our engagement approach and reflects the different needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples with disability living in urban, rural and remote areas across Australia. It is built on strong collaborative working relationships including with our State and Territory and Commonwealth Government partners. An internal Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Action Plan has also been developed to guide the implementation of the Strategy across the Agency. To ensure the Agency’s approach to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people is consistently applied across the nation, the intent of the Strategy and the associated Action Plan are reflected in the jurisdictional Operational Plans. In this way the strategy guides how the Agency does business while the Operational Plans provide for the engagement of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples with disability during the transition from current State and Territory systems to the NDIS. Operational Plans that are agreed between the NDIA, states and territories, and DSS describe the way in which we work together as the NDIS is rolled out across Australia. They provide a detailed guide to describe how this is best achieved in each state/ territory, including in rural and remote areas, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, and for culturally and linguistic diverse (CALD) groups. 2017 5 2. Our Commitment Our commitment is that: All National Disability Insurance Agency staff will be trained to understand and engage with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and communities in a way that demonstrates respect and support for Aboriginal language, heritage and culture or in the ‘proper way’. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, their families, carers and communities will be provided with culturally appropriate information to help them understand their rights and needs for disability support in preparation for the NDIS. Our engagement approach will inform the way that we work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and influence the way we appropriately engage and deliver services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples with disability and their families; and NDIA staff will listen, learn, build and deliver. They will be supported in their work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples through the identification and sharing of previous knowledge, experience and lessons learned through the trial sites, states and territories and throughout transition of the NDIS. Engagement that is focused on building and nurturing ongoing relationships between the NDIA and people with disability is critical to the success of the NDIS. These relationships are vital to improve the way we all work together and deliver on our agreed outcomes. It is how we take the journey together. Engagement provides an exciting opportunity to listen, learn, build and deliver. Effective engagement and relationship building takes time and plays a large role in how services connect with people and build trust. Therefore, it is critical that the NDIA engages with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in a way that supports their involvement. This may include early engagement with a community, engagement with community leaders, cultivation of champions and working collaboratively with mainstream and specialist services providers who operate and are trusted in the community, to share information and plan for the delivery and monitoring of the outcomes of the NDIS. Underpinning effective